Text: Genesis chapter 4 verse 7(KJV:If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him).
Most believers today are very calculative and economical when it has to do with giving to God. Even when he requires little from us out of the surplus he gave to us, we are still most times unfaithful to him.
The Bible takes record of the two sons of Abraham and Eve (Genesis chapter 4 verse 1) "Cain and Abel" Cain the eldest son was a tiller of the ground while, Abel the second son was a shepherd.
During their first fruit offering day, Cain offered from the first fruit of the field and Abel from best flocks. But the Lord respected Abel's offering and rejected Cain's. The Bible does not state categorically why God rejected Cain's sacrifices which leaves us wondering.
May be it had to do with his attitude. But my point of concern is Cain was furious that his sacrifices was rejected which means he also tried his best if he was fully expecting God to receive what he presented.
The question comes again why did God rejected the offering of Cain?. Romans chapter 12 verse 1 and 2 (KJV:I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service).
Maybe Cain was not purged and himself was not a reasonable offering unto God. It wasn't really about the offering but the life of the giver. Killing his brother after God's verdict reveals Cain's true nature.
The burden in my heart and the push to writing on this topic is to examine what would actually be a reasonable offering before God. Malachi chapter 1 from verse 6, God was protesting about what he actually considers a reasonable offering.
I discovered that not everything that people do even in church is reasonable to him. Is not every offering we give to God that is reasonable to him.
Brethren, think about how painful it will be, for a man to spend his life serving God and thinking that when he gets before God, God will say well-done, but rather God looks at him and say you were not reasonable all your life, take it away that's an unreasonable serving.
(Learn from Anamias and Saffira) if there is a reasonable offering, then there is unreasonable offering. The quality of your offering before God is determined by the quality of your personal relationship with him and your degree of selflessness when giving. David said I will not give to my God that which costs me nothing.
Conclusion:
Therefore, it is important to assess your motives before you offer anything to God, whether it be services, talent, time and possessions etc. For whatever you have, you were given. Be guided and don't ever give from leftovers.
*God is a God of mercy, justice and vengeance.
*It is very wrong to give bad gifts to God.
*kill the spirit of envy, jealousy and strive. It caused Cain to kill his brother.
*Your offering to God does not matter to him than your personal relationship with him.
GOD DESERVES YOUR BEST.
I still remain @febbykeys
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/genesis-4/
c. The LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering: Abel brought an offering of blood (the firstborn of his flock) and Cain brought an offering of vegetation (the fruit of the ground). Many assume that this was the difference between their offerings, but grain offerings were acceptable before God (as seen in Leviticus 2), though not as an atonement for sin.
i. “The word for offering, minchah, is used in its broadest sense, covering any type of gift man may bring… Neither of the two sacrifices is made specifically for sin. Nothing in the account points in this direction.” (Leupold)
ii. The writer to the Hebrews clearly explained why the offering of Abel was accepted and the offering of Cain was rejected: By faith Abel offered up a more excellent sacrifice than Cain (Hebrews 11:4). Cain’s offering was the effort of dead religion, while Abel’s offering was made in faith, in a desire to worship God in spirit and in truth.
d. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat: This shows Abel’s offering was extra special. The fat of the animal was prized as its “luxury” and was to be given to God when the animal was sacrificed (Leviticus 3:16-17 and 7:23-25). The burning of fat in sacrifice before God is called a sweet aroma to the LORD (Leviticus 17:6).
i. The offering of Cain was no doubt more aesthetically pleasing; Abel’s would have been a bloody mess. But God was more concerned with faith in the heart than with artistic beauty.
ii. Here, it was one lamb for a man. Later, at the Passover, it will be one lamb for a family. Then, at the Day of Atonement, it was one lamb for the nation. Finally, with Jesus, there was one Lamb who took away the sin of the whole world (John 1:29).
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